A Strong Conviction in SoCal

Summer 2014: Southern California

I struggle enormously with the question: where’s home? Being the data-oriented nerd that I am, my ideal conclusion would be drawn from a 3D model which correlates (1) country, (2) number of years lived per country, and (3) weight of its influence on my life.

I don’t usually post personal reflections on this travel blog but the reason I’m thinking out loud today is that the fastest 2 months of summer have flown by with my first time living in Southern California (look out for post featuring LA down to San Diego) quickly racing to an end. As I sit down in this airy lounge with the chatter of retirees shuffling cards and beach bums tossing volleyballs back and forth outside, I fumble with this perennial question but decide not to overthink it and break it down in Excel:

Where’s Home? By the years.

I’m in the process of creating a bubble chart that assigns a weight of significance to each country by life (personal and culture) and work (language, academic, and career). As college rounds the corner, there are a million ways the distribution can morph and the uncertainty of it is both terrifying and thrilling.

This summer has been a whirlwind of flights, new friends and faces, mind-blowing Mexican food, beach on beach, and sunset after dreamy sunset. I was paddle-boarding this morning and it occurred to me that if I kept going, I could get to Catalina Island by dusk and perhaps Hong Kong in a few months- for a moment I was seized by a new sense of connection to the world so strong I could have glimpsed my future self in any corner of the earth 20 years from now and not have felt a grain of fear. I am equally convinced that new states and countries will populate the breakdown above.

To my young, 血气方刚 heart, I couldn’t have a more satisfying conviction.